RWBY Alternative Chapters
by FANthony'sFiction
Summary: Don't get too excited RWBY fans. If I were allowed to keep the category section blank this would just be a story of various one offs that pop into mind.


**Author's Note:** This is a one-off. (I think) I wrote it in like two hours and I'm not really wanting to make a thing out of this, just a scene I think could have happened differently.  
For the sake of spoilers, if you're not up to date on RWBY then please go watch it. For what it is, it's pretty good.  
The following takes place in **SEASON 6 Episode 8 - Dead End.**

* * *

Life's Expectations.

I had lots to think about with training my eyes for the next Grimm encounter we have, but I was in somewhat high spirits after my talk with Maria. However, sitting in Saphron house was like being stranded in that town of Apathy again.  
Jaune, Nora and Ren took the news about Salem about as well as we did, and were up in their shared room just trying to come to terms with the new reality.  
Uncle Qrow was already taking comfort in another flask. Blake and Yang were staring at their mugs as they sat silently at the coffee table while Weiss and Terra tried to talk about approach strategies with the Atlas base.  
It was Oscar I felt most sorry for. He was made alienated the moment Ozpin's past was made known. He's just a kid, younger than I was when I first joined Beacon, and he's inherited blame for something he had no control over.  
Actually, where _is_ Oscar?  
I looked around the room, but he wasn't there. Not wanting to cause a fuss, I quickly check upstairs in case he's just in the bathroom or something.

"hey, what'cha doing?" I asked seeing him standing outside a door.

He looked at me sadly, and soon I heard the voices from the other side.

_"Pyrrha didn't have to die"_ Jaune said. _"what are we even fighting for? If Salem can't be killed, then what's the point in any of this?"  
__"We're expected to just fight and die"_ Ren added. _"Just another generation for the endless cause"  
__"Not really what I imagined when I signed up…"_ Nora sighed.

Looking defeated, Oscar continued past the door and made his way into our shared room.  
I got the impression he didn't want to speak to anyone. And to be honest, what can I even say?  
All Oscar is going to be is another of Ozpin's lives, and the rest of us are just pawns in his never-ending war against Salem.  
Salem can't be killed, and Oz won't stay dead. And the two will just keep sending waves of monsters or waves of children to fight for them.  
We're all just living weapons to them.

I slouch down on the top stair with my face in my hands. I hate thinking that way. I hate thinking that Professor Ozpin lied or manipulated us.  
He was a good person. He trusted us, he bent the rules for us, he respected us, he…

_"he trusted us…"_ I whimper, thinking back to the early days of Beacon.  
Classes. Homework. _Teasing Weiss._ Hanging out with JNPR… Pyrrah and Penny were good friends, and I miss both of them so much. Things were simple then. Hard work, but simple.  
Classes by day, fun by night. Slay monsters on the weekends and be back in time before Glenda finds out. We were so naive. Thinking we could save the world when really it was always out of our depth.  
We were just kids playing at pretend.  
Even before we knew about Salem, how were we ever going to stop the flood of Grimm? No matter how many we killed, they just kept coming back.

_"They just kept coming back…"  
_  
I can still hear the voices of despair through the door and can almost feel the hopelessness in the living room.  
But at the bottom of the stairs, leaning against the wall was my baby.  
Crescent Rose. The weapon I built in my first training school. The same one I've been killing Grimm with since the day I first shot the head off a Beowolf. Holding Crescent Rose in my hands always made me powerful, but it alone never made me a huntress.  
Courage made me a huntress. My training. My dedication.  
But most of all, my understanding made me a Huntress.

I was a child when I joined Beacon, and I'm still a child now compared to my old professors, but I always knew one simple truth that was never taught to me. The Grimm will never stop.  
Not ever.

"I'll be back in a few" I say as I walk down the steps towards the front door.

"Where are you going?" Weiss asked. "Want me to tag along?" Yang added.

"No thank you, I'll be back soon. I promise" Since I'm bringing the lamp with me, I grab Crescent Rose on my way out.  
Not that I expect any trouble from here to the military base.

I was greeted just as poorly as the first time.  
"We're not granting you access" Announced the first guard.  
"We're not giving you a ship" Announced the second.  
"Good Day!" They both said together.

I waited, giving them a chance to say what they had to. Once I was sure they were finished, I suggested my new proposal. Almost pleading with them to hear me out.  
"I just want work" I say. "Look, I know we're just kids. But we're still huntsmen. Is there anywhere nearby that needs help?"

The guards look at each other. Before they can decide to refuse me, I add more as it came to mind.

"A Grimm problem. Something too big for the civilians and farmers but too small to waste Atlas time. I'm…" I lower my head to them. "I'm begging you, please… my friends, my team need this"  
Moments go by and I was so sure this wasn't going to work. I had no intention of lying to them. This wasn't a ruse. This was purely for the benefit of my team. And if we can save people all the while then mores the better.

"Well, this is certainly a change" Laughed Caroline as she stood on the other side of the gate. "It's clear you're desperate to be useful. But I can't have grovelling children on my doorstep"

"I-" I was cut off by her hand going out to me.

"But as it so happens. There is a task for people of your, skill" She pulls out a scroll and after a few presses on her screen, I get a 'ping' on mine with a bounty update.  
A town eight miles outside the walls has low defences and was evacuated a month ago, but there are still holdouts inside requesting reinforcements from the heavy Grimm activity.

A smile breaks across my face. "Thank you, thank you so much, you have no idea what this means!" I cheer as I run off back to the house.

The atmosphere hadn't changed since I left. But hopefully, my little report will fix that.  
"Yang, can you wake Qrow for me?" I ask as I start climbing the stairs to rouse the others.  
"What for? Where were you?" Yang asked me as she waited at the bottom of the stairs.  
"I was at the base" I explain with a smile. "And I need everyone to hear what I have to say"

Most were reluctant to gather on request, but my team at least were more than willing to hear me out.  
Team RWBY was gathered in the living room with JNR slowly making their way down, Qrow leaning against the back wall and Maria and Oscar sitting on the sofa.  
I was sorry to kick Terra and Saphron our of their living room again, but although it wasn't strictly top secret what I wanted to share, I did feel the intended audience should be alone when I say this.

"First of all, I want to ask you all a few questions" I say, keeping my scroll behind my back. "Some of us are angry. Some of us are feeling hopeless. Some of us feel betrayed. My question is, why do we feel this way?"

"Because Ozpin lied to us!" Jaune said with his arms cross, giving the odd stare to Oscar, although it was clear that he'd calmed down a bit from the first outburst.  
"There's no way we can beat Salem!" Yang added.  
"It's a war we can't win, and all we can hope for is to hold out as long as we can… however we can" Uncle Qrow said as he was about to take another drink from his flask.

The other answers were similar in nature. When they were finished speaking, I nodded to them.

"All good answers" I sigh in agreements. "But let me ask a few final questions" Wises was raising her eyebrow at me this whole time, but right now she leaned slightly forward, as did Blake and Ren.  
"What's changed?" I asked, sending a wave of doubt across everyone. "Seriously, what's different?" I asked again.  
They all looked at each other confused.  
"Each and every one of us made a discussion not to cower or crash on the ground. We decided to face our demons with courage, knowing full well that we'd never exterminate every single Grimm in the world. Not in our lifetimes, and perhaps not ever" I turned to my uncle, still looking like he wasn't getting it yet. "Uncle Qrow, did you ever expect to be the last generation of fighters against the Grimm?"

He had no answer.

"What about you Maria? Did the legendary Grimm Reaper ever think she'd ever stand above the whithering body that would be the last Grimm to ever walk on this world?"

Her eye things closed as she smiled to herself, she shook her head.

I turned to the smartest girl in the room. "Weiss, do some maths for me. What's the difference between a potentially infinite number of enemies, and one extra that can't be killed?"

"I, uh…" She was stumped. Of course she was.

"There _is_ no difference" I said to her. "Take Salem out of the equation and we're just as hopeless as the day we agreed to take up weapons and fight for _our_ lives, and the lives of others until the day our bodies drop!" I pulled out my scroll, holding out the bounty I was just given. "RWBY, JNR, Oscar, Uncle Qrow. There is a town not ten miles away that need some huntsmen to save their lives" I say giving each and every one of them a look before drawing my weapon. "Now, I for one plan on going out there. I might die. But there's nothing I'd rather be doing. I am a huntress, and killing monsters is what I signed up for. It's what I trained for. It's what I do"

I pull the loader back and let it loose.

"Anyone wanting to come with me is more than welcome. But whoever comes needs to know this simple truth first" I pause for a moment. My team already look ready to help, and slowly I see the feeling spread. "The creatures we fight. Although we'll kill this lot, there'll always be more. I don't think we'll ever be truly done with them. And when we're old like Maria…"  
_"Hey!"  
_"…we'll just have to trust that the kids of that time are just as ready to pick up the torch like we did for those before us. So tell me Blake, Are you a huntress?"

"I..." She was caught of guard by my question. But she soon settled and nodded. "I am a Huntress"

"Nora, Are you?"

"Haha, You bet!"

"Oscar, do you want to be a Huntsman?"

He was keen, but nervous as he lifted Ozpin's cain. "I will do my best"

"That's all I ask" I assure him. "Ren, Weiss, Yang and Jaune. What are you?"

"Huntsmen..." They said together.

"What are we?"

"Huntsmen!" They all cheered.

"Again! WHAT ARE WE?"

"HUNTS-"

"TOO LOUD!" Terra yelled from the front door. "Seriously, we have neighbours you know"

"sorry" "we're sorry" "sorry Terra" We each said bowing to our two hosts as their son laughed adorably at us.

Not as climatic as I was hopping, but the feeling in the room changed.  
We all looked ready, and all turned their stares to the pile of weapons leaning and resting by the door. Before I knew it they were all gearing up for combat and syncing their scrolls with mine to get the intel on our mission.

"Quite a speech Ruby" Uncle Qrow said placing his hand on my shoulder. "Your team is lucky to have you"  
"Thanks uncle Qrow" I said beaming my smile to him. "eh, actually… think maybe you could, leave the flask here?" I ask seeing him about to take another swig.  
"heh, not a chance Ruby" He laughed making his way over to grab his weapon.

That disappointed me. He'd be so much better off without that stuff. But still. We have a mission and he's still a good fighter and I'm happy he'll be with us for the mission ahead.  
So with lunches packed and ready, we all set out towards our newly assigned mission.

Salem wasn't mentioned at all. Not on the way or even on the way back.  
We went there with a purpose.  
Don't try to save the world, just one town.  
Don't try to kill every Grimm, just the ones that are plaguing people.  
Don't worry about not achieving the impossible and focus on the possible.  
With that mentality, we all went to bed that day with a victory under our belts, lots of gratitude from the people we saved and even a hefty sum reward form the base.  
But most of all it reminded us of something very important that we all needed. Although we started this path for different reasons, our drive was always the same.  
We trained ourselves knowing it would be hard, but never to surrender.  
We do what we do because no one else can. Because without selfless and brave people this world would shatter.  
And although Salem might never die to us, it's because of us that she hides in darkness surrounded by monsters.  
We Are Huntsmen.  
Because we don't cower from challenge, fear or even death.

* * *

**Author:** You may assume this story picks up the next day with Oscar going for a wander in town and Jaune getting an idea about making it to Atlas.  
This was literally how I felt Ruby could have handled the situation by giving her team a taste of victory to contrast how badly things were gong for them lately.  
Still, I love her, and I love the show. I just hope the rocky road ahead doesn't end with no winners and shattered hopes.


End file.
